Brassiere



Dec. 29, 1953 G. L. DIEBOLD BRASSIERE Filed Dec: 1, 1950 IN V EN TOR.

Patented Dec. 29, 1953 UNITED srArss arr ()FFlCE poration of DelawareApplication rit'eati 1, 1950, Serial N6. 198,641

This invention relates generally to articles of feminine apparel andmore particularly to ano'v'el" type of breast support or brassiere.

Brassiere constructions as heretofore known have been characterized forthe most part by the provision of a pair of breast pockets offabric orthe like adapted to receive-and cover the breasts and to support thesame. In general, such prior art constructions have been based on theprinciple of causing the breasts to fit into and con form to thepredetermined shape of the breast, pockets in order to obtain either thedesired breast contour or the necessary support or both; However, due tovariations in breast size, shape and contour from one" woman to anotherand even as'between the breasts of one woman' suc'h constructions havebeen incapableof uniformlysatisfactory support" and proper fit;Bra'ssieres" have been provided in different sizes and shapes" as ptedsolution but such-fixed grad a tion of size and shape was still noanswer tUthe' problem becauseof the virtual impossibility ofaccommodating all sizes and; shapes within and between thefixed range:Moreover, in thepref-" viously known brassieres the lifting forcesof"the" shoulder straps have not been"utilized tobest advantage,-suchforces being distributed gener allythroughout the brassiere body so that111* many instances excessive and uncomfortable tighteningof the-strapshas beennecessary in order to obtain the desired support;

I-have found thatmore satisfactory results" can be realized by means-ofa brassierefconstruction operating on an entirelydifferent'principlewhich permits 1 the breast-supporting portions"thereof to conform-automatically to thesizeand shape of the breastswhile at the same timeproviding the desired degree of support: A brassi-ere construction based on this latter concept; has the advantages ofgreater comfort'for the wearer and more natural support of the breastswithout excessive binding or' restriction and hence has'a'wider range ofapplication and use." Such construction, which comprises the essentialfeature of my invention, takes into consideration and provides for thevariation in size and shape which is known to exist between thebreasts-ofa single individual. In addition, by means of the presentinvention the forces exerted by the shoulder straps aretransmitteddirectly to and are concentrated directly on thebreast-supportingselementswhereby to permitmore" effective and morecomfortable adjustment of the straps.-

Accordingly, a primary-object of thepresent invention is to provideanovl' and improved" 3 Claims. (01. 2 42) 2 brassiereconstruction based onthe principleof permitting the brassiere to conformautornati} cally to asubstantial extent to the size and shape of the wearers breasts, wherebyto support and cover the same properly and comfortably.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel type of brassierehaving means for individually supporting the breasts which, at the sametime automatically conforms to a substa'n tial extent to the size andshape of the wearers breasts. V V

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel brassiereconstruction in which the breast-supporting portion can assumeindepen'd} ently different sizes and shapes whereby to accommodatevariations in size and shape between the breasts of an individualwearer. V

An additional object of the invention to provide a novel brassiereconstruction in which the forces of the shoulder straps are transmitteddirectly and effectively to the breast-engaging portions of thebrassiere. I 7

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent fromthe subsequent de-' tailed description taken in connection with theaccompanying drawing wherein: I Fig. 1" is'a perspective view of abrassiere embodying the principles of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary elevational View of the inside of-a portion ofthe 'b-rassiere on an enlarged scale;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; and YFig. 4 is a plan view of one element of the. brassicre showing the shapethereof prior to assembly in the complete brassiere construction.

Referring now to the drawing, the brassiere shown therein as onespecific embodiment of my invention comprises a pair of breast-receivingcups or pockets, indicated generallyat H, which, may be of fabric orlike material. The pockets i it any suitable manner, in the presentinstance each pocket is shown, by way of example, as being formed fromupper and may be constructed in lower fabric pieces or sections i2 and:3, respec'{ tively, which are" stitched together, as at is,

along a generally horizontal center line in order? to provide thedesired curved contour. Each of the pockets H is also provided at theinside thereof with an internalbreast-engaging sling,

indicated generally at It; which constitutes the principle feature of myinvention as hereinafter described in'detail. The breast poc'kets'll areconnected together in spaced relation by means of a'triangular insert "Hwhich mayalsdbe of substantially non-stretchable fabric,

3 fabric and which is attached by suitable stitch ing along its sideedges to the inner edge portions of the pockets ll.

A pair of elongated fabric body portions or sides l8 are stitched to theouter edges of the breast pockets ii for encircling the body of thewearer and are adapted to be detachably connected at the rear of thearticle by conventional means not shown. A pair of shoulder straps isare secured to the body portions It at the rear of the bra-ssiere andare adjustably connected to the tops of the breast pockets H at thefront of the article by means of a pair of friction clips or retainers Mof the usual type- Eorr'etaining the breast pockets H firmly againstuthe\vearers body and for facilitating the supporting effect of the pockets,a band 22 of elastic material is provided below each of the pockets Hand is stitched at its opposite ends to the centerinsert l1 and to theadjacent end of the corresponding body portion IS. The bands 22 may beloosely connected along their upper longitudinal edges to the adjacentlower edges of the pockets ii by suitable means such as the loose meshstitching indicated at 23.

As pointed out above, the prior art brassieres have for the most partbeen constructed with breast pockets of predetermined size and shapeinto which the breasts of the wearer must fit without any provision foraccommodating the breast-supporting portions of the brassiere to thesize and shape of the breasts of the particular wearer. However, bymeans of the breast-enga ing elements or slings it) of my device, I amable to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art constructions byproviding for automatic conformity or self-adjustment of thebreastengaging portions of the brassire whereby to permit such portionsto conform to a substantial degree to the size and shape of theindividuals breasts.

Broadly speaking, the slings 16 comprise generally cup-like or annularmembers disposed at the inside of the breast pockets H and adapted toencircle the breasts in supporting relation whereby to provide thenecessary breast support substantially independently of the outermostbreast pockets. An important feature of the sling construction is thatthe bottom portion thereof which engages the underside of the breast issubstantially non-stretchable and is secured at its ends to the body ofthe brassire whereby to insure firm support and uplift below the breast.An equally important feature of the sling construction is that eachsling is attached to its corresponding breast pocket only at spacedperipheral points so that the major portions of the sling are absolutelyfree and unattached whereby to permit automatic adjustment thereof toconform to the size and shape of the breast. Although the entire slingmay be formed from a in the preferred embodiment of the invention, asdescribed below, the side and top portions of the sling are made ofelastic material to provide a yielding or self-expanding effect therebyfurther facilitating the automatic conformation of the sling to thebreast contour.

It will be apparent that each sling it can be formed as a one-piece unitor, if desired, may be constructed from a plurality of pieces ofdifferent or like material. However, I have found that a particularlyconvenient and economical construction is obtained by means of aone-piece construction utilizing elastic material. Consequently, I haveselected this latter form of my invention for purposes of illustrationin the drawing, but it will be understood that the broad principles ofthe invention may be embodied in different constructions as suggestedabove.

As shown in the drawing, each of the breastengaging elements or slingsi5 is formed from a single piece of elastic material which, prior toassembly in the completed brassiere, has the configuration indicatedgenerally in Fig. l wherein one of the slings i8 is illustrated inflattened-out and unattached condition. The elastic material from whichthe slings iii are formed is preferably of the type havingstretchability in substantially only one direction. Thus, it will beseen from Fig. 4 by the direction of the elastic threads that thesection of elastic as viewed therein is stretchable only in a generallyvertical direction and not in ahorizontal direction. It is also possibleto utilize a two-way stretch elastic material for the slings it, but itwillbe seen hereinafter that certain important advantages may berealized by the use of the one-way stretch material. Moreover, ashereinbefore pointed out, it is also within the scope of my invention tomake the entire sling out of non-elastic material so that the sling issubstantially non-stretchable throughout.

'As seen in Fig. 4, the section of elastic. material constituting one ofthe slings l6 has a generally U-shaped configuration wherein th base orbottom portion is designated by the reference numeral 24 and the legs orside portions of the section are indicated at 26 and 21. The outer endsof the side portions 26 and 2? are provided with straight end edges, asat 28, which are adapted to abut when the sling is secured within abreast pocket. The ends of the side portions 26 and 2i may also beformed with a pair of slanting end edges, as at 29, in order tofacilitate the attachment of the sling to the breast pocket.

The lower corners of each of the elastic sections comprising the slings16 are preferably cut at an angle or truncated, as at 3|, for a similarpurpose.

Referring particularly to Figs. 2 and 3, it will be seen that eachsection of elastic material is assembled by pulling together the sidesor legs 25 and zl' until the end edges 28 are in abutment and thenstitching the ends together, as at 3 2, to

define a cup-like or annular member having a substantially circularcentral opening 33. Each of the slings I6 is then secured atthe insideof one of the breast pockets H by stitching the end edges 29 to theupper edge of the pocket It and by stitching the truncated corner edges3i to the brassiere along the junctures of the breast pocket ii with theadjacent body portion iii and the center insert 11. The manner of thisattachment will be quite clear from Fig. 2 of the drawing.

With the slings secured in this manner atthe inside of the breastpockets, it will be seen from Fig. 3 that each sling I6 is disposed inbreastengaging and supporting position within its pocket H with thecentral opening 33 of the sling being spaced rearwardly from the frontof the breast pocket ll. Thus, the sling I6 is adapted to engage andencircle the breast with the forward portion of the breast extendingthrough the opening 33 into the space defined between the opening 33 andthe front of the breast pocket ll.

feature of my construction resides in the fact that ach sling I6 issecuredto the brassire. by attachment at only. three spaced points,namely, at the. top and at the opposite sides. .Thus, the bottom portion24 and th side portions 26,,and 27 of the sling are absolutely free andunattached between the aforementioned three spaced points of attachment.This will be apparent from Fig. 3 wherein an intermediate point of thebottom portion 24 is shown to be free and slightly spaced from theoutermost fabric section It of the breast pocket II. The side portions26 and 21 are similarly disposed in free and unattached conditionintermediate the attached ends thereof.

As a result of the three-point attachment of the sling It in the mannerjust described and as a result also of the stretchability of the elasticmaterial comprising the slings IE, it will be readily seen tht when thedevice is in use the slings it will snugly engag and encircle thewearers breasts while at the same time expanding or stretching slightlyin one direction or another in order to accommodate themselves to thesize and shape of the breasts. With a oneway stretch elastic material asillustrated in the drawing, it will be understood that the side portions25 and 2'! of the sling l6 are stretchable longitudinally thereof toprovide substantial conformation of the slings to the breast at the topand sides thereof, while the bottom portion 24 is substantiallynon-stretchable longitudinally thereof. As a result of this lack ofexpansion or stretchability at the bottom of the slings [6, veryeffective support is given to the under sides of the breasts where suchsupport is most vital and the expansible or self-conformingcharacteristics of the slings is confined for the most part to theportions 26 and 2! which extend around the sides and over the tops ofthe breasts. Consequently, by the use of a one-way stretch elasticmaterial in the manner shown, I am able to realize all the benefits andadvantages of permitting the breast-engaging elements to accommodatethemselves to the size and shape of the breasts while at the same timeobtaining completely effective breast support. Moreover, it will beapparent that the use of unitary sections of elastic for forming theslings results in a very simpl and highly economical construction.

The three-point attachment of the slings I6 at the top and sides thereofserves to hold the slings in open breast-supporting position and also toprevent collapse or sagging thereof. Thus, the bottom portions 24 beingsubstantially nonstretchable longitudinally thereof and being firmlyattached at their ends to the body of the brassire, there is no tendencytoward undesirable sagging of the slings l6 and consequent elongation ofthe breasts. In addition to the importance of the spaced pointattachment of the slings IE, it will also be understood that the freeand unattached condition of the portions 24, 26, and 21 of the slingsbetween their points of attachment to the brassiere body is also veryimportant in order to permit the unattached portions of the slings tostretch automatically and conform readily without restriction to thesize and shape of the wearers breast.

In order to supplement the effect of the bottom portions Z 'l of theslings in preventing sagging or elongation of the breasts, I prefer tosecure the front ends of the shoulder straps is directly to the topportions of the slings l6 as well as to the top of the breast pocketsii. To this end I secure a pair of small loop portions 34 (Fig.

rcctly by the shoulder straps. It will be seen that when the straps isare tightened the slings [6 connected directly thereto will be pulledinto snug supporting engagement with the wearers breasts. Moreover, whenthe shoulder straps are adjusted by the wearer, the adjusting forces areapplied primarily to the slings it rather than being distributedthroughout the brassire so that the wearer may more readily achieve theposition thereof giving most support and comfort without excessivetightening of the straps.

It will be understood that with my brassiere construction, the majorbreast-supporting effect is contributed by the slings is which are indirect engagement with the breasts. The breast pockets l I serve as anoutermost covering for the breasts but at the same time the pockets I!will also contribute a reinforcing and supporting effect on the breastsinasmuch as in actual use the slings iii will expand slightly and engagethe inner surfaces of the fabric sections !2 and 13 comprising thebreast pockets ll.

Although the invention has been described in connection with a specificstructural embodiment thereof, it will be understood that variousmodifications and equivalents may be resorted to without departing fromthe scope of the invention as described by appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a brassire having a pair of breast pockets, means forindependently supporting the breasts and conforming to a substantialextent to the size and shape thereof, said means comprising a pair ofself-adjusting annular breastengaging members disposed at the inside ofthe breast pockets and adapted to extend circumferentially completelyaround the breasts of the wearer in breast-conforming relation, saidmembers each being securely fastened to its corresponding breast pocketat three spaced points adjacent the top and opposite side edges thereofwhereby the remaining unattached portions of said members are free tomove and conform to the size and shape of the wearers breasts andwhereby said members are retained in open breast-suppcrting positionduring use without collapse and sagging thereof and said members havingsubstantial resistance to stretching in a generally horizontal directionat the bottom portions thereof whereby to provide a firm support belowthe breasts and being readily stretchable in a generally verticaldirection at the side portions thereof to conform to a substantialextent to the size and shape of the breasts.

2. In a brassire having a pair of breast pockets, means forindependently supporting the breasts and conforming to a substantialextent to the size and shape thereof, said means comprising a pair ofbreast-engaging slings secured to the inside of the breast pockets, saidslings being adapted to encircle completely the wearers breasts inuninterrupted supporting relation therewith and being fastened to thebreast pockets at a plurality of spaced points adjacent the top andopposite side edges of the slings Whereby to provide unattached portionsin said slings intermediate said spaced points of attachment for freeyielding expansion and self-conformity, and each of said slings beingsubstantially nonstretchable in a generally horizontal direction at thebottom portion thereof and being stretchable in a generally verticaldirection at the side portions thereof whereby to conform to asubstantial extent to the size and shape of the wearers breasts while atthe same time providing effective support below the breasts.

3. In a brassiere having a pair of breast pockets, means forindependently supporting the breasts and conforming to a substantialextent to the size and shape thereof, said means comprising a pair oielastic breast-engaging members'secured to the inside of the breastpockets, said members each being formed from a generally U- shapedsection of one-way stretch elastic material having an elongated bottomportion and elongated outwardly extending side portions, said sideportions being secured together at the top of the member to define acup-like sling having a central opening and said sling being fastened atspaced points adjacent its top and side edges at the inside of thecorresponding breast pocket, said sling 'being adapted to encircle thewearer's breast with the unattached portions of said sling intermediatethe points of attachment being free for yielding expansion andself-conformity, and the one-way stretch elastic material of which thesling is formed-being so arranged that the bottom portion of thesling issubstantially nonstretchable longitudinally thereof whereby to providefirm support below the breast and the side portions of the sling" arestretchable longitudinally thereof whereby to conform to a substantialextent to the size and shape of the wearers breasts.

GEORGE L. DIEBOLD.

attest-bees Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTSNumber Name Date 2,175,676 Walters Oct. 10,1939 2,362,974 Cohen Nov. 21,1944 2,470,847 -Gluckin May 24, 1949 2,485,313 Rabinowitz Oct. 18, 19492,497,324 Schenkman Feb. 14, 1950 2,501,860 Becker Mar. 28, 19502,506,172 Plehn 1 May 2, 1950 2,508,037 La Roe May 16, 1950

